This childhood hobby can actually help you to de-stress

Call it a childish endeavour if you like, but colouring is now hot among grown-ups. Think pretty illustrated forests, flowers and gardens, intricate patterns, beautifully rendered cityscapes and idyllic dreamscapes.

It’s so popular that adult colouring books have outsold big-name authors on Amazon’s bestseller lists. Case in point, the first print run of Scottish illustrator Johanna Basford’s Enchanted Forest – almost 226,000 copies – sold out in weeks. And her first colouring book, Secret Garden, has sold 1.5 million copies since its 2013 release.

Colouring enthusiasts find it useful for de-stressing or practising mindfulness. It’s also a creative activity that can be solitary or social. Colour any time, anywhere, for that momentary escape from the humdrum.

TRY IT! Enchanted Forest ($23.60) and Secret Garden ($28.90), from Books Kinokuniya; Fantastic Cities, US$14.95 (S$21), from Chronicle Books, www.chroniclebooks.com.